Air cushion appliance supporting device



Nov. 21, 1967 M. 1.. CLEVETT, JR

AIR CUSHION APPLIANCE SUPPORTING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1965 Z OMOOOOOO I I 99QQ999-\ uez INVENTOR.

MERTON L. CLEVETTDJR. BY W Hi5 ATTORMEV FIG.3

NOV. 21, 1967 c v T JR 3,353,621

AIR CUSHION APPLIANCE SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 9, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ooo000000000000000 INVENTOR. MERTON L. CLBIETT JE.

BY z/W H \s ATTORNEY Nov. 21, 1967 M. 1.. CLEVETT, JR

AIR CUSHION APPLIANCE SUPPORTING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 9, 1965 F'IGJO I I G INVENTORY. MERTON L caveman. BY

H \s ATTO R-MEY QQQQAWQQQQQGOGG Q United States Patent ()fiice 3,353,621 AIR CUSHION APPLIANCE SUPPORTING DEVICE Merton L. Clevett, Jr., Lexington, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 512,722 2 Claims. (Cl. 180-124) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An air cushion device for lifting and transporting a household appliance includes a backing member, a flexible member secured at its periphery to the backing member and means for introducing low pressure air into the space between the members. The inflatable flexible member includes air outlet passages spaced inwardly from its periphery to provide a peripheral skirt portion, the passages at the front thereof being spaced a greater distance from the periphery than the remaining passages.

The present invention relates to an air cushion device and is more particularly concerned with an air cushion load supporting means for household appliances such as refrigerators, ranges and the like and to household appliances including such a device.

Air cushion load supporting devices designed to support a load on a cushion of air so that the load may be readily moved relative to a supporting surface such as the floor are Well known.

A general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved ultra-thin air cushion device particularly adapted for use in combination with a household appliance such as a range, refrigerator or the like so that the appliance can be easily moved over a supporting surface such as a kitchen floor without scratching or otherwise damaging the fioor surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air cushion load supporting device designed to provide relatively low hovering of a load supported thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide an air cushion load lifting device particularly adapted for use in combination with existing household appliances and having a minimum height both when in use and when not in use A more specific object of the invention is to provide a new and improved low cost air cushion appliance supporting device operable by means of low pressure air pro- .vided, for example, by the blower connection of a household vacuum cleaner.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification. j

In carrying out the objects of the present invention, there is provided an air cushion device particularly adapted to be permanently mounted on the bottom of a household appliance without requiring significant change in the supporting frame work of the appliance. The device includes a backing member composed of sheet material such as a sheet plastic material adapted to be secured to the bottom side of the appliance in a substantially horizontal position and in spaced relationship with the surface supporting the appliance and a flexible member attached to the peripheral edges of the backing member and including a plurality of air passages spaced from the periphery thereof to form a continuous peripheral edge portion forming a skirt extending substantially horizontally inwardly beneath the backing member a distance such that the effective inner edge portions of the skirt normally flex or drape into engagement with the supporting surface. The backing member includes means for introducing low pressure air into the device at a point within the area boundedby the inner edges of the skirt in order to create an air cushion beneath the backing member during operation of the air cushion device. The central portion of the flexible member forms means for limiting outward movement of the skirt under the inflating action of the low pressure air in such a manner that the inflated skirt is maintained in a substantially horizontal position thereby limiting the total distance which the appliance is raised from the floor to, for example, a fraction of an inch. Preferably, the air passages at the front of the support are spaced a greater distance from the periphery than the remaining air passages so that during operation of the lifting device, the front of the appliance will be raised slightly higher than the rear portion.

For a more detailed description of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view of the lower portion of a refrigerator cabinet including one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 1;

7 FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the refrigerator cabinet of FIGURE 1 illustrating the air lifting device in its load supporting state;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal bottom plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is a partial bottom plan view of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view illustrating certain details of construction of the present invention;

FIGURE 8 is a partial bottom plan view of the device illustrated in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a view illustrating a further embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGURE 10 is a vertical sectional view of a household refrigerator including self-contained means for providing low pressure air to the air cushion device forming a part thereof.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawing there is shown the bottom portion of the household refrigerator cabinet 1 including a machinery compartment 2 at the lower end thereof. The machinery compartment 2 contains the usual components of a refrigeration system including a compressor 3, a condenser 4 and a fan 5 for circulating air from an air passage 6 through the compartment. A removable grille 7 is suitably supported within the air passage 6 at the front of the cabinet. The cabinet also comprises structural frame work including horizontally extending flanges 8 along the lower ends of the rear and opposed side walls of the cabinet and adjustable pads or leveling screws 9 threaded into the flanges 8 at the four corners of the cabinet. A reinforcing cross member 10 is also provided across the front of the cabinet below the opening 6. By this construction the lower portion of the supporting frame work is represented by the flanges 8 and the cross member 10 and is supported in spaced relationship from the floor on which the cabinet rests by the pads 9.

In accordance with the present invention the cabinet 1 is provided with air cushion lifting device of a size suflicient that low pressure air from a vacuum cleaner blower outlet will provide the forces necessary to lift the leveling pads 9 from the supporting surface and of a thinness such that it can be mounted on the bottom of the cabinet below the flanges 8 and the cross member 10.

The air cushion device 12 illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing comprises a rectangular backing member 14 composed of sheet material such as a high Patented Nov. 21, 1967 impact polystyrene plastic sheet material. It is of substantially the same dimensions as the cross sectional dimensions of the base of the cabinet and may or may not be provided with reinforcing corrugations 15. In the illustrated embodiment, backing member 14 is of dimension such that the rear edge 16 and the opposed side edges 17 respectively overlap the flanges 8 extending across the rear of the cabinet and the opposite sides of the cabinet. In the absence of a horizontally fiat surface such as that provided by the flanges 8 along the front of the cabinet, the front of the air cushioning device 12 includes an upturned front edge portion 18 extending upwardly behind the cross member 10.

In addition to the relatively rigid backing member 14, the device 12 also includes, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing, a continuous sheet of flexible plastic material 19, such as canvas, polyethylene or nylon sheet material, of slightly larger dimensions than the backing member 14. The peripheral edges 20 of the member 19 are wrapped around the peripheral edges of the backing member 14 and adhesively secured to the upper surface thereof by a double faced adhesive tape 22 as illustrated more clearly in FIGURE 3 of the drawing. The unsecured portion of the sheet 19 overlying the backing member 14 is of an area such that when the air cushion device 12 is mounted on the bottom of the refrigerator, the flexible sheet 19 will drape into engagement with the supporting surface on which the refrigerator is supported by pads 9.

Air is supplied to the space between the backing member 14 and the floor engaging flexible sheet 19 through an air inlet 23 above and integral with the backing member 14. This inlet includes an adapter 24 for connection through a vacuum cleaner hose to the blower outlet of a vacuum cleaner. Normally, the adapter 24 is hidden from view by means of removable grille 7.

Air introduced into the space between the backing member 14 and the flexible sheet material 19 through the air inlet 23 inflates and forces the flexible plastic sheet material 19 firmly into engagement with the sup porting surface before passing through a plurality of openings 24 adjacent to but spaced from the four edges of the device 12. The holes or openings 24 are preferably arranged in rows along each of the four sides of the device and are spaced a sufiicient distance inwardly from the edges thereof so as to form an air retaining skirt 26 extending around the periphery of the device. At least the inner edges of the skirt 26 as represented by the rows of openings 24 are forced into engagement with the supporting surface by the low pressure air entering the inlet 23. As the refrigerator cabinet 1 is lifted from the supporting surface by this low pressure air, the air escaping through the openings 24 about the four sides of the air cushioning device 12 flows as an air film beneath the skirt portions 26, or in other words between the skirt portions 26 and the floor, with the result that there is established a non-frictional relationship between the device which now supports the cabinet and the floor. This air film flowing beneath the skirt portions 26 permits free movement of the refrigerator with 'a minimum of effort.

Preferably, as illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawing, the air passages along the front of the air cushioning device 12 or more specifically along the front of the refrigerator cabinet, indicated by the numeral 28 are spaced a greater distance away from the edge of the 'device than are the passages on the remaining three sides of the device. This provides an increase in the length or width of the skirt portion along the forward edge of the device and tends to raise the front of the cabinet slightly higher than the rear thus assuring clearance of the pads 9 at the front of the cabinet which may in some installations extend farther below the cabinet frame than the rear pads.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 1 and 2 of the drawing, the entire center portion of the flexible sheet 19 is air tight or air impervious and serves primarily to limit upward horizontal movement of the skirt portions 26 under the inflating influence of the air pressure and thus limit the total height that the cabinet is raised during operation of the air cushion lifting device. This action is illustrated more clearly in FIGURE 3 of the drawing.

The air cushion lifting device may be secured to the cabinet by any suitable means. One suitable means for permanently securing the air lifting device 12 to the flanges 8 and as well as the cross member 10 is by means of a layer or strip of double faced adhesive tape 30 between the peripheral edges of the device and the flanges 8 as illustrated in FIGURE 3 of the drawing.

In FIGURE 4 of the drawing, there is illustrated a second embodiment of the present invention differing from that shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 in certain respects. The air cushioning device 32 illustrated in FIGURE 4 of the drawing includes corner portions 33 having openings 34 therein for mounting the air cushioning device 32 directly on the four pads 9 at the four corners of the cabinet thereby eliminating the use of the tape 30.

Also in this embodiment of the invention in which the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or substantially the same components, the continuous flexible sheet member 19 is replaced by a composite member including a flexible air impervious peripheral skirt portion 36 secured to the four peripheral edges of the device and a flexible netting of nylon or the like 37 sewed or otherwise fastened to the inner edges 38 of the skirt 36 for limiting the outward movement of the skirt 36 and to maintain the skirt portion 36 in substantially horizontal position during operation of the device. When air is introduced into this device through the air supply 23 some of the air flows directly through the netting 37 into contact with the supporting floor but as the inner edges 38 of the skirt 36 are in contact with the floor, air pressure builds up behind the skirt portions 36, that is between the skirt portions 36 and the backing member 14 to form a valve-like seal sufficient to provide the necessary lifting force. The air escaping between the skirt 36 and the supporting floor forms a non-friction film facilitating horizontal movement of the load on the supporting surface.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 5 and 6 of the drawing, the air retaining skirt, generally indicated by the numeral 40, is in the form of a relatively narrow band of flexible material extending about the four peripheral edges of the backing member 14 and is secured thereto at both its inner and outer edges 41 and 42. When air is introduced through the inlet 23 provided in the backing member 14, air is trapped to some extent between the arcuate skirt section 40 and the supporting surface or floor and flows through a series of apertures or openings 44 adjacent the inner edge 41 of the skirt 40 into the space 45 between the skirt and the backing member 14. The air pressure built up within the space 45 is suflicient to maintain the skirt 40 inflated while the air escaping between the skirt 40 and the supporting surface provides an air cushion on which the load is easily transported.

FIGURES 7 and 8 of the drawing illustrate an alternative means for securing any of the flexible members, as for example, the flexible sheet 19 to the backing member 14. In accordance with this illustrated embodiment, the backing member 14 is provided with an undercut or bulb-shaped groove 50 adjacent to but spaced from the edges of the backing member 14 and peripheral edge portions of the sheet member 19 are forced into the groove 50 and retained therein by means of a resilient rod-like member 52 adapted either to be snapped or compressed into the groove 50 after insertion therein of the edge portions of the flexible member 19.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URE 9 of the drawing differs from that shown in FIGURE 2 in that the continuous sheet material 56 corresponding to the flexible member 19 is provided with additional air outlets 57 Within the area bounded by the air outlets 24 and 25. These centrally positioned air outlets 57 have been found to be of value in facilitating the separation of the flexible sheet material or film from the supporting floor or in other words to release the film in the event it has become stuck to the floor during a long period in which the refrigerator or other appliance has not been moved. They also provide means for introducing a thin film of air between the central portion of the flexible sheet 56 and the supporting surface to prevent snagging thereof during movement of the load.

If desired any appliance having as a part thereof fan or blower means may be modified so that the same air flow means can be employed for providing the low pressure air necessary for operation of the air cushion lifting device. Such an arrangement is illustrated in FIG- URE of the drawing in which the same or similar reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts. In this embodiment of the invention, blower 60 is employed for normally circulating air through the machinery compartment 2. This blower has a first outlet 61 through which the air is normally discharged from the blower for flow through the compartment and a second outlet 62 for supplying air to the air cushioning device 12. A normally open valve 63 is associated with the air outlet 61 and a suitable control means such as a pushpull rod 64 connected to the valve .63 and accessible at the front of the cabinet is employed for actuating the valve 63 to close the normal outlet 61 at any time that it is desired to move the refrigerator. With the normal air outlet 61 closed, the blower supplies air under pressure through the outlet 62 to the air cushion lifting device 12. As soon as the refrigerator has been repositioned in a desired place, valve 63 is opened to restore normal air flow operation of the blower 60.

While there has been shown and described various embodiments of the present invention it will be understood that it is not limited thereto and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An air cushion device for lifting and transporting a household appliance comprising:

a generally rectangular backing member and means for mounting said member on the bottom side of said appliance in a substantially horizontal position and in spaced relationship with the surface supporting said appliance,

a flexible member attached at its periphery to the peripheral edges of said backing member and including a continuous relatively fluid tight peripheral portion forming a skirt portion extending inwardly beneath said backing member a distance such that the area thereof adjacent the inner edges of said skirt portion normally engage said supporting surface,

said backing member including means for introducing air under pressure into said device within the area bounded by the inner edges of said skirt portion to create an air cushion beneath said backing member to raise said appliance from said surface,

said flexible member comprising a flexible plastic film having therein a plurality of air passages spaced from the periphery thereof and dividing said film into said skirt portion and a central area forming limiting means for limiting outward horizontal movement of said skirt portion under the action of said air and to maintain said skirt portion in a substantially horizontally position and limit the total distance said appliance is raised to a fraction of an inch,

the air passages at the front of said film being spaced a greater distance from the peripheral edges of said backing member than the remaining air passages.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said film includes additional air passages within said central area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,743,787 5/1956 Seck 7 3,078,940 2/1963 Rolle 180-7 3,161,247 12/1964 Hackie 1807 3,161,247 12/1964 Mackie 1807 3,261,177 7/1966 Amann et al. 1807 3,282,360 11/1966 Amann et al. 1807 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. JAMES T. MCCALL, Examiner. 

1. AN AIR CUSHION DEVICE FOR LIFTING AND TRANSPORTING A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE COMPRISING: A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR BACKING MEMBER AND MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID MEMBER ON THE BOTTOM SIDE OF SAID APPLIANCE IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION AND IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SURFACE SUPPORTIN SAID APPLIANCE, A FLEXIBLE MEMBER ATTACHED AT ITS PERIPHERY TO THE PERIPHERAL EDGES OF SAID BACKING MEMBER AND INCLUDING A CONTINUOUS RELATIVELY FLUID TIGHT PERIPHERAL PORTION FORMING A SKIRT PORTION EXTENDING INWARDLY BENEATH SAID BACKING MEMBER A DISTANCE SUCH THAT THE AREA THEREOF ADJACENT THE INER EDGES OF SAID SKIRT PORTION NORMALLY ENGAGE SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE, SAID BACKING MEMBER INCLUDING MEANS FOR INTRODUCING AIR UNDER PRESSURE INTO SAID DEVICE WITHIN THE AREA BOUNDED BY THE INNER EDGES OF SAID SKIRT PORTION TO CREATE AN AIR CUSHION BENEATH SAID BACKING MEMBER TO RAISE SAID APPLIANCE FROM SAID SURFACE, SAID FLEXIBLE MEMBER COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE PLASTIC FILM HAVING THEREIN A PLURALITY OF AIR PASSAGES SPACED FROM THE PERIPHERY THEREOF AND DIVIDING SAID FILM INTO SAID SKIRT PORTION AND A CENTRAL AREA FORMING LIMITING MEANS FOR LIMITING OUTWARD HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID SKIRT PORTION UNDER THE ACTION OF SAID AIR AND TO MAINTAIN SAID SKIRT PORTION IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY POSITION AND LIMIT THE TOTAL DISTANCE SAID APPLIANCE IS RAISED TO A FRACTION OF AN INCH, THE AIR PASSAGES AT THE FRONT OF SAID FILM BEING SPACED A GREATER DISTANCE FROM THE PERIPHERAL EDGES OF SAID BACKING MEMBER THAN THE REMAINING AIR PASSAGES. 